The Opelousas courier., 1887-11-12
NEW YORKS MARKETS FOR WIVES.
The -Four Great Matrimonial Marts of
the Metropolis.
Philadelphia Press.

Pnlla0elpnla PRESS.
The four great markets for wives in New
York are the Sunday schools, the big stores
and factories, the street and the boarding
houses. l have purposeiy arranged then III
the order above because the greatest matrl-
monial markets are the Sunday schools and
the least are the boarding-houses.. Mar
riAges are made in bo~arding-houses, but the
average clearinghouse keepers daughter Is
more apt to end an old maid than q wife.
The reason is that it seems not to be good for
the girs for men to see them too much or IN
too varied a range of employment. 1t taxes
the romance and poetry out OF the wife
hunters head and the charm from q girls
personality for her to be seen on. her knees
srrubbing, or with her head in a towel
sweeping, or sitting ashes in. q ~sioyenly
wrapper. OF course, there are girls who can
do every sort OF housework with such an ar
and grace that even a leVel-headed Lover Will
try to steal the broom Or ashes SITTER she mas
held in order to have it for O keepsake, but
those girls are not ap! to be developed IN the
dull and cruel grind OF boarding-house rou-
tine.
In the Sunday schools the girls look their
very best. Not only do thousands OF tender
hearted young fellows attend them IN order
selves. but just SO do the myriad young
women, who are either here without their
families or who are shut up in factories all
day and live in parlorless. tenements fpy
| night, seek the same religious resorts Tor
| similar ends. II is a curious function that
| New York Sunday schools perform. 1hey
| are resorted to by about roo Chinamen, who
go there simply to learn English. and by
thousands OF Christians VINO go there 10 geb
When I say the big shopping stores are
| great lIatrimoniaEm markets 1 do not mean 70
have it inferred that the girls who stand be-
| hind the counhTs are given to Wedding the
male cuEI6mers they wait upon, Su9eh Things
do happen, [ suppose, but not frequently
enough for consideration, the fact being
s that i netting . biz Es S99 Y5ss54 Pc store %9yf than rSr for { rG her to
be courted while On duty. Il her employers
did not discharge her the other girls would
| torment her beyond endurance. Meetings
between the girls and their heau1 on tne
into consideration, for the lasses go home IN
troops, and are rnerciiess t%easers, so that TINS
is also a rare occurrence. One OF the pig
shopping stores, BY the way, employs detec,
fiyeas to see that no young fellows hang about
the store at closing time to meet the counter
girls. But there is a field for matrlmolly that
is directly in the stores. and Is exceeqlhgl,y
fruitful. The male employees, buyers, heade
of departments, men clerks. cashiers, and
even the members of the inns get very many
wives from among the girls whom they NEE
every day and grow to admire, II their quaii
ties are such as recommend them; Acqualnt
ances thus made lead to visits at. the girls
homes, to evening conlpanlonGhIp, n tt
wedlock. These same men and women II
the big stores, By II. the e., wax g.y are seba among Tue
There are actually streets set aside fol
courfship by tie psrlorless poor. Upper
Eighth avenue, where the little shops are;
t tGee Old f foSg rich, and the bottom Of Broad
way, where all the great chipping and ex
press Offices are. closed and dark-ethere arr
the great Irritation promenad@s OF the tene
who see the long. professions OF glggllDf
girls. in their best bows and streamers, ant
Imagine them to be off the path OF virtue
W her such girls are found, and he VIII
thinks III o. these girls had better not pre-
sumo upon his Ignorance, or he VIII mt
them well able to take care Of themselves
GOWNS. and The young mechanics and porter
have but on their best coats and p~lastere'
their locks with oil, and both sexes hay
sailed ont to meet and flirt and pair on an
cannof help doing SO. It's nature.